＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Keyence used to be headquartered in Takatsuki City, with a small office southwest of JR Takatsuki Station, and I remember thinking that it was a high-tech company despite its unusual name. Today, the head office has moved to Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka City, and a vast distribution center has been built in Takatsuki City on the site of the former Mainichi Housing Housing Exhibition Hall.
１．What kind of company is Keyence?
Keyence is a company that develops, manufactures, and sells automatic control equipment, measuring instruments, information equipment, and optical and electronic microscopes. To put it more simply, Keyence is involved in sensors and image processing systems related to factory automation (FA).
FA refers to systems introduced to automate factory production processes, and sensors and image processing technology that precisely measure the position of objects on production lines are indispensable for accurate manufacturing operations and the elimination of defective products, and demand is expected to increase in the future.
Founded in 1974, the company has been operating at 200 locations in 44 countries around the world, with overseas sales accounting for more than 50% of total sales.
The company was founded in 1974 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, by Takemitsu Takizaki (1945- ), the founder and current honorary chairman, as “Reed Electric” and changed its name to “KEYENCE” in 1986, derived from “Key of Science”.
２．How did Keyence become “No. 1 in Japan in Average Annual Income?
There are approximately 3,500 listed companies in Japan, which is 0.01% of the total 4 million companies in Japan. Among these few listed companies, Keyence has the “highest average annual salary in Japan.
According to “Shushoku Shikiho 2019 (comprehensive edition),” Keyence (electrical equipment) ranked first with 18.61 million yen, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (television) second with 15.18 million yen, and Hulic (real estate) third with 14.18 million yen.
TV stations, securities firms, trading companies, and real estate firms are known for their high salary levels, but it is surprising that salaries in the manufacturing industry are even higher than those of these companies.
Although this is an old estimate, according to the 2013 Weekly Toyo Keizai’s “Lifetime Salary Ranking,” Keyence ranked first with 561 million yen, Nippon Television Network second with 505 million yen, and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation third with 497 million yen.
The secret is probably its “small number of employees (about 6,600 consolidated employees)” and “high operating profit margin.
The company’s operating margin of about 50% is by far the best in the Japanese manufacturing industry; in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, the company had an operating margin of 55.5%.
３．What is the secret of “high profitability?
（1）fabless management
One of the reasons for the small number of employees (approximately 6,600 employees on a consolidated basis) is “fabless management” (management that does not have its own manufacturing or assembly plants). This is because equipment-related expenses and labor costs are that much lower.
Incidentally, the company’s “equity ratio” is an astonishing 95%. Even Toyota Motor Corporation’s ratio is 37%, so you can see how impressive this is.
（2）High product development capability
About 70% of the company’s new products are “world firsts” or “industry firsts. The company is trying to uncover the latent needs of its customers and manufacture and sell “high value-added products” that have few competitors (i.e., are not subject to price competition).
（3）Direct sales method to customers
Unlike ordinary BtoB businesses, the company uses a “direct-to-customer sales method” that does not involve agents, etc., and makes efforts to catch the latent needs of its customers at “trade fairs” and other such events. The company’s “thorough marketing strategy” and “skillful sales strategy” seem to have been successful.
（4）Minimize advertising expenses
Keyence is a “thoroughly secretive company,” with no commercials and the president rarely appearing in the media, because it is not a company directly connected to consumers. When the president made a rare appearance on TV Tokyo’s “Cambria Palace,” he made it clear that it was “recruiting season.
４．Keyence begins “external sales of know-how” (added 8/30/2019)
It was reported that Keyence will “sell its know-how externally” to take advantage of its high profitability with an operating profit margin of over 50%. (Nihon Keizai Shimbun dated 8/30)
They have developed software based on the system they use in-house. The software analyzes customer data and proposes methods to improve the efficiency of sales and new product development, and will be sold on a “subscription” basis. It is quite a clever strategy.